Scan barcode
A review by niniane
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns
2.0
This helps a small set of ego-based problems, such as worrying that people look down on you when they aren't.
But the author encourages applying it to all situations, including "deciding not to feel hurt" if you are in an abusive relationship or the victim of injustice.
It had an example of a woman being abused and cheated on. The author mentored her to smile and praise her abusive husband. She was never allowed to challenge him. Through subservience, she got him to leave his mistress. The author used this as a role model.
The author says there is no absolute justice. So if you suffer something you consider injust (e.g. sexism, racism), you are supposed to realize there is no such thing as justice. There is only what society agreed to. Then you use his techniques to "decide not to feel hurt".
This seems like a tactic for oppressors to continue harming others and expect victims to decide not to feel hurt.
The book is helpful in one narrow category (ego problems) but harmful behind that.
But the author encourages applying it to all situations, including "deciding not to feel hurt" if you are in an abusive relationship or the victim of injustice.
It had an example of a woman being abused and cheated on. The author mentored her to smile and praise her abusive husband. She was never allowed to challenge him. Through subservience, she got him to leave his mistress. The author used this as a role model.
The author says there is no absolute justice. So if you suffer something you consider injust (e.g. sexism, racism), you are supposed to realize there is no such thing as justice. There is only what society agreed to. Then you use his techniques to "decide not to feel hurt".
This seems like a tactic for oppressors to continue harming others and expect victims to decide not to feel hurt.
The book is helpful in one narrow category (ego problems) but harmful behind that.